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I'm Proud to be a Hyphenated-American

As we embark to celebrate another 4th of July to commemorate our country’s Independence from the British, I’m reminded of how divided we are around the notion of how to define “American."

A reader of my column recently lamented that her co-worker is taking a political stand by using the term, “American” to describe anyone born in this country regardless of ethnic heritage as a means of appearing color-blind. In this example, while the notion of being “color-blind” sounds laudable, it can also be interpreted as being insensitive to someone’s background, history, and culture. The reader explains, “Call me overly prideful but I strongly prefer the term Asian-American because just saying ‘American’ the way my co-worker did is a tad disrespectful of my family's heritage and our origins and how they shape us today”.

Keep in mind the controversy of hyphenated Americans is not new in this country. Nearly one hundred nears ago in 1915, as America was on the brink of entering World War I, former President Theodore Roosevelt was also openly critical of Americans who had this split identity. In a speech to a largely Irish Catholic audience he left no doubt where he stood on this issue:

“There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all … The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic … There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else.”1

Part of the fear from that era was the need for Americans to feel united and reassured in the face of war. Former president Woodrow Wilson also echoed Roosevelt’s concerns, by saying "Any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready." 2

This nationalistic fervor and fear of ethnic Americans betraying their country was best exemplified during World War II as more than 110,000 Japanese-Americans were sent to internment camps with grave concerns they would betray their allegiance to America.

Today, the issue of hyphenated Americans remains a concern possibly due to our country’s immigration policies and the impact of diversity on the American psyche. Conservative radio talk-show host, Rush Limbaugh goes so far as to differentiate between past immigrants and today’s newer arrivals. “Italian-Americans came, and they became Americans. They held on to their traditions and there were Little Italy’s in various cities around and all the vestiges. But they were Americans first, not Italians first. And they were not demanding that America change to accommodate what they had brought with them. They changed to fit into what America was. They essentially were assimilating into a distinct American culture that they craved to be part of.” 3

Limbaugh’s concern isn’t so much of the hyphenated brand of Americans as much as the desire for assimilation. How we define assimilation is a topic unto itself but it’s worth noting that Italian-Americans, German-Americans, and earlier European immigrants don’t carry the perceived stigma or threat of loyalty as much as that of say an Arab-American, Mexican American, or Asian-American.

So despite the advances this country has made in terms of tolerance and inclusion, there’s still the real fear of racial divisions and in-group classification leading to a fragmentation or disintegration of American society. I wholeheartedly disagree with that fear as my own identification as a Chinese-American in no way lessens my patriotism or allegiance to the United States. If anything, it magnifies my loyalty since the description of myself as Chinese-American or Asian-American is to inform others of my Americanism while also paying tribute and acknowledging the part of me that is different from that of an Italian-American or Jewish-American. I am comfortable with cultural differences because I believe those differences is what makes us even more “American”.

Lets hope if you have kids they get over it, you still seem to have an unhealthy issue with race based on your blog. Most of the Asians I know who are 3rd generation or more, are about as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean as I am Irish.

Hell one of my friends the "Korean-American" to put it in terms you like, converted to Judaism which was a feat of sorts being she was female and much of Judaism is matriarchal.

You must not understand culture very well. Those of us who are 1st or 2nd generation Asian-American can't deny our heritage or our upbringing. To do that would be an insult to our parents and ancestors.

What you're sharing is based on a Eurocentric, mainstream, upbringing that discounts the minority experience. If your parents moved you to Asia when you were young and you became a citizen of that country, would you ever want to forget or denounce your past American heritage? I doubt it. It wouldn't make sense right?

But part of your outrage could be based on your own unconscious issues with race (i.e. White privilege)…meaning would you ever tell your Jewish friends to "get over it?" and stop identifying with their ethnic heritage? Would you tell your Black friends to stop with seeing themselves as "Black or African-American?" Would you demand that of other races that are more white (i.e. Greeks to stop identifying with their Greek side, Russians to cut their Russian background, etc.).

Or maybe you should think about what your own ancestors went through when they were told to stop being "Irish-American?"

Well, as a Russian immigrant growing up here I can assure you that distrust of foreigners is not limited to non-whites. I guess the cold war history and consistently typecasting russians as evil in movies can do that.

I have been told to "go back to Russia" at least a few times, and because our town has more than 5% recent russian population, the locals are very good at telling us apart from the first glance.

It seems people from out of town/different areas of the country are more open to conversations/seem friendlier, perhaps because they don't see us as competition or whatever.. maybe it's just our town.

I definitely feel ashamed to be a russian immigrant, and it would be amazing if people's first words were not "where are you from", by either noticing I look or sound a bit different.

Philadelphians are like that. The City of Brotherly Love is more like the City of You Don't Belong Here...They do that to me, too, because I came from a foreign land: Buffalo, NY, about 450 miles away from Philly...
It works both ways, too, friend. Go up to Bell's supermarket in Northeast Philly, and if you don't "belong" in the neighborhood, your grocery cart will get whacked half a dozen times...or are those considered "love-taps"? How best to respond?

What is your opinion of the 1960's Broadway play
"Flower Drumsong?" It was a musical depiction of
a Chinese-American family, and their experience of
living a hypenated American life. It was a mild, pleasent
enough play. It had the popular song "I Enjoy Being A
Girl." Like many such saccranie and well meaning plays
the plot could be from a fortune cookie. Did you see the
play or the film made from the play? It might be interesting.

It's the Fourth of July on an American site. Besides, the Psychology Today website is more of a blog of professionals in the psychological field than a website of scientific articles in the psychology field. It has been this way for all the years I have been reading.

Hey, Chris here again. Thank you for responding to my original post. It was apparently right on time for a Fourth of July post! I especially liked your few historical notes and how this debate has changed throughout recent history. Also, I really have to agree with your final statement. Our similarities help bring us together (the "American" in "Asian-American" for example) but it is our differences that help make us distinctive and on par with the idea of American individualism which we must accept as well.